2 arrested after knife-point robbery of Portland man, according to police

BATH, Maine — Two men who police say attacked another man and threatened him with a knife were arrested early Tuesday in Bath.

Benjamin A. Hamilton, 28, of Portland and Patrick J. Ridley, 26, of Bath are charged with robbery after they allegedly attacked a 26-year-old man and took his wallet and cellphone, according to a press release from Bath Police Department.

Bath Officer Garrett Olson responded when an alleged assault reportedly occurred on Washington Street just before midnight Monday. A 26-year-old from Portland said he had been hanging out with two men, who he said he knew only as Ben and Pat from work they had done together in Portland.

The alleged victim told the officer that the three men had been riding in a vehicle together when one of the men punched him in the face and pulled out a knife. Ridley and Hamilton allegedly forced the third man to give them his wallet and cellphone before fleeing from the vehicle, according to Bath Police Lt. Stan Cielinski.

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A short time later, Bath Officer Michael Lever located a vehicle that matched the victim’s description of it in front of a home on Office Drive. Bath police said they were familiar with the address and knew a Portland man named Benjamin Hamilton stayed there with his girlfriend.

Officers knocked on the door and heard the sound of running around inside before a female answered the door. She initially told the officers the two men were not in the home, but Ridley soon came downstairs to talk with the officers. Ridley and the woman reportedly told the officers that Hamilton was not there, but the officers located the victim’s cellphone in the apartment and Hamilton also came downstairs.

Hamilton and Ridley were charged with Class B robbery. Ridley was released on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in West Bath District Court on Jan. 15. Hamilton’s bail was set at $2,500. He was not able to make bail and remained at the jail Tuesday, according to Cielinski.